So it has finally happened.
I grew up as a Mother. I finally allowed (yes, I use that word on purpose) my children to stay the night some where other than a relative’s home. They had sleepovers.
This may not seem like a big deal, and you are probably laughing at me right now. But please understand that I am a woman with very serious trust and control issues, and in order for you to take my babies from me for any length of time I had better know you not only very well, but understand your house and its inter-workings.
No, I didn’t run full back-ground checks but I figured with one of the homes having a law enforcement officer around I was ok.
To no one’s surprise my daughter, the youngest, ended up going on her sleepover first. She’s a bit more brave in things of this nature…ok in anything…and when we discussed having to go potty, brush teeth, wake up in a strange place and it being dark, blah blah blah…she literally rolled her eyes at me and said ‘Mom, I get it, geez.’ Then, knowing her Mamma was about to give her trouble for her sassy mouth she threw in “I mean, I will be polite and I will not be afraid and I will find her Mom or Dad to call you if I want to go home. But I won’t want to come home so do not think I will come home. Because I am staying the WHOLE night.”
My son, on the other hand, only whispered to me a few times about what to do if he needed something in the middle of the night and if I packed his extra underwear and maybe just a ‘tiny flashlight’ and his stuffed turtle. But to make sure the turtle was at the bottom of the bag because he probably wouldn’t need it.
They, of course, had the time of their lives and stayed up late and played games and ate junk food and did all the things kids should do at sleep overs. Both were returned to me safe and sound and can’t wait to do it all over again.
We’ve had their friends stay at our house before, so it wasn’t too big of a deal to them, or the first time they got to have a sleep over…but when they left our home, bags packed, it was a big deal to me.
I had to trust that everything I had taught them, from manners to emergency situation scenarios, sunk in. This from kids who can only seem to half remember to flush a toilet or put their shoes away.
By some miracle I slept through the night for each of their slumber parties. Ok maybe not a ‘miracle’ but the Xanax didn’t hurt. And I was so proud picking them up, hearing from the other parent what a great kid I had, and then hearing the non stop chatter from the back seat about what they did and how late they stayed awake and how cool the house was and on and on and on.
In other words everyone survived, everyone had fun, and I even felt confident their father and I prepared them.
I know, a whole post on something so simple…I’m crazy, right? Wrong. I just love my kids and after the hell our family has been through letting them be away from my side is a difficult but necessary step.
It means life just might end up normal after all.
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